Bernard Howard, 12th Duke of Norfolk

Who was Bernard Howard, 12th Duke of Norfolk?

Bernard Edward Howard, 12th Duke of Norfolk, KG Earl Marshal was the son of Henry Howard and Juliana Molyneux.

Bernard Howard succeeded to the title of Duke of Norfolk in 1815 upon the death of Charles Howard, 11th Duke of Norfolk. He married Lady Elizabeth Belasyse, daughter of Henry Belasyse, 2nd Earl Fauconberg and Charlotte Lamb, on 23 April 1789. The couple were divorced five years later in 1794. He was elected a Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1803. In 1834, the Duke of Norfolk was invested by King William IV into the Order of the Garter.

He died in 1842 at the age of 76. Upon his death, his only son, Henry Charles Howard, became the 13th Duke of Norfolk.

An ardent Roman Catholic, like most of his family, he strongly supported Catholic Emancipation, and gave offence to his Protestant neighbours by giving a banquet to celebrate the passage of the Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829.

He is buried in Fitzalan Chapel at Arundel Castle.